A Brother and a Friend
by MeHihihihihihihi
Summary: There was a time, when Leo and Raph got along just fine. That time is no more. Now the two turtles can't stand each other. Neither one of them know what to do to mend the close relationship they once had.


"Raph! What does it take for you to listen to me?! It was a stupid idea to jump into it like that and you know it! Only a stubborn idiot would be stupid enough to do something like that! Did you see how many of them saw you?! That was suicide!" Leo yelled at his younger brother in the middle of living the room. The two brothers were furiously at each other's throat. They were only a couple feet from each other, and it looked like the two turtles could've easily tackled one another. Nobody would've been surprised if punches did start being thrown. Leo and Raph were fighting more often and aggressively each day.

The four brothers had just returned from topside after a violent encounter with the Purple Dragons. While the turtles did beat up the infamous Street Gang with ease, all four of them knew that the fight could've ended better. Earlier that evening, the turtles were spying on the Purple Dragons who appeared to be breaking into a nearby warehouse. All four ninjas watched the gang in the shadows waiting for their next move. Leo didn't want to attack until the Dragons had let their guard down. The oldest brother of the group knew that the gangs' hands would've been full from carrying all the goods from the warehouse. That would've been the ideal time to attack. The gang members would've been too preoccupied to defend themselves properly. Raph on the other hand knew the turtles could take on the Purple Dragons regardless of weather or not the street gang's guard was down. While Leo's plan was the safest, it wasn't the quickest.

The red-clad turtle blatantly ignored his older brother's orders and attacked the Purple Dragons right then and there. Unfortunately, at that moment the gang did have their guard up. Some members were keeping an eye out for anyone that would try to stop them. As a result, a number of them were prepared for the attack Raph had launched at them. One of the members even had a handgun in his belt and ended up grazing the turtle's shoulder with a bullet. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey quickly jumped into the fight the second they heard the gunfire. The turtles were able to dispatch the Purple Dragons quickly. While the fight had been easy, the turtles did receive numerous cuts and bruises that could've easily been avoided.

After the last of the gang disappeared, Leo and Raph started their usual aggressive altercation. If Mikey and Donnie had allowed it, punches would've been thrown. In fact, punches were thrown. But only a couple of punches were exchanged though. Mikey and Donnie were able to physically separate the two brothers just enough to prevent one from hurting the other. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the verbal abuse. The yelling didn't stop ever since it started.

"Suicide?! You must be a bigger weakling than I thought! And that's saying a lot considering I've always assumed you were pretty weak to begin with! It's the Purple Dragons we're talking about here! We could've beaten them with our hands behind our shells!" Raph argued back inching closer to his older brother. The two bickering turtles never broke eye contact. Both of them looked enraged and were ready to full on assault the other. "You're too cautious Leo! All we had to do was bash some heads, which we did! But you are too cowardly and cautious to even do that! We were waiting for nothing! Waiting wouldn't have done anything!"

"What are you talking about?! The Purple Dragons usually carry guns! That bullet could have easily hit you in the eye socket or something like that! Heck! You deserve to get hit by a bullet for being so brainless! At least that'll teach you your lesson! One day will get hurt or killed for your stupidity and if you had a conscious you would know that!" Leo fumed at his older brother while taking another step forward. Mikey and Donnie winced at their older brother's comment. The two of them helplessly observed the clash from the couch. Donnie was praying for the argument to just end on its own as soon as possible. But Raph and Leo were showing no signs of backing down.

"Every single one of them could've had a gun, and I would've barely gotten hit. The Purple Dragons can't fire a gun to save their life! I could easily avoid any deadly bullet they shoot at me! Plus, where's the fun in a fight without a little risk?! I'm not a weakling like you! I can handle fights myself! You spend too much time crying about safety like a baby! If we followed your worthless plan, the Purple Dragons would've escaped!" Raph bellowed back angrily while taking a menacing step forward to his brother. The two raging turtles were only a foot away from each other. Donnie sucked in a breath of worry wondering if they were going to start beating each other. "Leo! Why do you have to make every single thing we do complicated!? Not everything has to have a plan! Some things are actually pretty straightforward!"

"That plan was straightforward! And we needed a plan so you don't accidently get shot! Which that almost happened! All you had to do was wait! Is that too hard?!" Leo demanded back to his brother.

"We don't need to be cautious about everything! Especially the Purple Dragons! You always have to ruin everything fun! Why do we even bring you with us to topside when all you do is worry?! Why don't you stay down here in the lair and mediate with Splinter?! Or, are you doing to worry about the ceiling caving in too?!" Raph hammered back. Leo glared at his younger brother back in fury. Mikey pulled his knees up to his chest while still sitting on the couch. The youngest turtle looked to Donnie pleadingly wanting to know what to do.

"You think I'm the one who should stay behind?! That's bull Raph! You and I both know that I am very much needed! The team needs me to be the leader and to keep things in control! Without me, I guarantee one of us might be dead! If anything, YOU should be the one to stay behind! Because one day, one of us is going to get killed because of you! And like always, I'm going to get the blame! Why do you always have to be such a terrible brother?!" Leo bickered in return. "You're always a liability! You don't use your head! You don't care about what anyone has to say! In sense…you're useless! All you want to do is bash things! Sometimes I wish that you get yourself killed one of these days. You'd deserve it for all the reckless things you've done!"

Raph's eyes softened a little, but the red-clad turtle still seemed infuriated. Something Leo had said had stung. But he wasn't going to back away in defeat. He kept glaring at his older brother before quietly asking, "Do you honestly think that I'm that much of a terrible brother? Because, frankly….some of the things that you've told me could be also said about you. And you know what? I'm glad you think I'm a terrible brother. Because I think you're a terrible brother too."

At that, Raph instantly turned around and exited the lair quickly. He knew that if the argument had continued any longer, that Leo would've been seriously hurt by his own two hands. The red-clad brother wasn't even sure how satisfying hurting his older brother would be in the long run either.

It was dead silent in the lair for a brief couple of seconds. All three turtles kept on staring at the exit Raph had left while deep in thought. Leo was still shaking with anger. The eldest of the group was trying his hardest not to break anything. The anger that was kept inside of Leo sometimes made him wonder if he really was that much different from his younger brother. But he'd always shake his head of these thoughts, and kept on convincing himself that he was nothing like Raph. It was almost an insult to be compared to Raph in Leo's eyes. This twisted thought was due to the fact Raph had acted openly offended when Donnie had told him he and Leo were very similar. The second-oldest of the group yelled at Donnie not to compare him with Leo. Leo unfortunately had heard his younger brother, and as a result convinced himself he was nothing like Raph either.

To ease his troubled mind the oldest turtle laid down on the second couch that was unoccupied. He gently rested his head against a pillow at one end of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. It appeared as if at any moment, Leo would fall asleep. But in the back of his head, he knew that sleep wouldn't come for a very long time. Donnie and Mikey couldn't help but stare at their brother worriedly from their couch.

"Did you really mean what you just said?" Mikey asked his oldest brother nervously.

Leo tilted his head in order to glance over at his younger brother. His face look worn out from exhaustion. He was completely over the argument between him and Raph. The eldest turtle sighed to his youngest brother before replying, "I meant some of it."

"But there was some stuff you told him that you didn't mean, right?" Mikey questioned his older brother hopefully.

Leo shifted his position on the couch to his side in order to face his two brothers. He warily looked at the two of them before nodding. "I barely remember what I said anyways. I was convinced that I meant what I said the moment I said them. It's too confusing. I really don't want to talk about right now."

"You and Raph used to be such good friends when you were kids. Sure you argued sometimes. But it was never this bad. Now, you two don't get along at all. I can't recall ever seeing you two have one conversation that wasn't a conflict nowadays. What happened?" Donnie asked his older brother confused. Leo gave Donnie a sad look from the couch, but didn't say anything at first. The genius turtle then had to add, "Please, just answer the question Leo. The conflicts have gone too far, and now our team is falling apart. Aren't you concerned at all?"

"I know Donnie," Leo groaned covering his eyes with one arm. The leader of the group was feeling a terrible combination of frustration, confusion, and sadness. "I've tried approaching him about these arguments. But then a new argument just starts. When we were kids, we had so much in common. But then as we got older, we began expressing different viewpoints."

Both Donnie and Mikey nodded their heads in understanding. They both figured Leo knew about the problem too, and as always had tried to fix that problem on his own. Mikey piped up to Leo by asking, "Do really think Raph is a terrible brother?"

"Yes," the eldest turtle replied without hesitation. Donnie and Mikey gave their older brother sudden look of hurt. They weren't expecting the answer to be this direct. Leo then sat up and gazed right into his brothers' eyes before adding, "But I'm just as bad of a brother if not worse. I know deep down inside that this is my fault. As the leader and the older brother I'm supposed to come up with the solution to the problem. Raph has the right to be angry. I deserve all the insults he gives me. Raph has always been this way. He hasn't changed at all. And I used to be able to work with him without blowing up at him. But nowadays I keep screwing everything up. I keep arguing with him and hurting him even though it's in my power not to. I am capable of calming Raph down without yelling or getting violent. The fact that I choose to yell or become violent with him explains what a beyond terrible brother I've been."

Leo pulled his knees up to his chest and gave another audible sigh. Anyone could see the clear-cut guilt in his eyes. There was a new Leo in that room compared to the angry Leo that there was moments before. Just earlier, the eldest turtle was harsh and defensive. Now, he was grief-stricken and remorseful. Mikey and Donnie exchanged hopeless glances at one another. Neither one of them knew what to do at that moment. Mikey wanted to give his older brother a hug and Donnie wanted to give words of comfort to their brother. But both turtles were too apprehensive to do anything.

"Hey Leo, can you at least try to get along with Raph? It couldn't hurt. I know you said that approaching him about this didn't help at first. But can you please keep trying? It's better than nothing. It's not in your character to give up. Especially on something this big," Donnie suggested from the couch. Mikey's face brightened at the idea.

"Yeah, why don't you go talk to him right now?" Mikey suggested. "The sooner the better."

"He's probably at topside by now. He barged out of the lair remember?" Leo protested unsure of himself. The eldest turtle grimaced at the memory of his brother's last words before exiting the lair.

"You're not fooling us Leo," Donnie argued back, while the other two turtles gave him confused looks. Mikey eyed his genius brother right next to him in order to figure out what his brother meant. Leo's head perked up in interest and nervousness at the comment. Donnie rolled his eyes at his two brothers. "Okay, scratch that. You're not fooling ME. Leo I know you better than you think. And one thing I do know about you is that you know Raph almost better than Raph knows Raph. Even though you don't KNOW where Raph is, I'm pretty sure you can take a pretty good guess at where he is."

"I hate it when you do that," Leo grumbled just loud enough for his brothers to hear. Donnie was right. Leo would know where Raph was. While Leo and Raph didn't talk much as of lately, Leo definitely knew his younger brother very well. The eldest turtle had always kept a watchful eye over all his brothers. He was generally aware of where is brothers were and what they were doing most of the time. Even when Raph would storm out the lair without his cell, Leo would sometimes follow him if he knew his brother was in danger. While Leo didn't like invading his brothers' privacy, it comforted him to know that they were still alive. The eldest turtle had always felt that his brothers were his responsibility, and would feel the worst guilt if any of them got hurt. Mikey, Donnie, and especially Raph hated the fact that Leo thought he was very much responsible for them. But Donnie and Mikey have always openly said that they didn't blame Leo for this unnecessary pressure he was putting himself under. They blamed Master Splinter, many near death experiences, and Leo being the oldest for this unreasonable responsibility.

Plus, while Raph and Leo weren't as close as they before, it was no secret to Donnie that the two brothers still knew each other unusually well.

"Soooo…right now?" Leo questioned tentatively from the couch sitting up a little straighter. The eldest turtle was now stalling for time. A part of him didn't want to speak to Raph anytime soon. Donnie knew his older brother was stalling and as a result, gave an exaggerated eye roll.

"Just go already! Raph will be back before you leave at the rate you're blabbing," Mikey told his older brother eagerly. The younger turtle was almost bouncing on the seat of the couch in hopefulness.

"Alright I'm going. But I can't promise you that anything will work out," Leo told his brothers before he hopped off the couch and sprinted out the lair door. Donnie and Mikey both heard the door slam with a definite shut. The two turtles looked at each other in anticipation.

Many different possibilities of where is younger brother might be swam through the eldest turtle's head as he sprinted through the dark sewers. But most of the options quickly abandoned his mind the more he thought about it. He knew that Raph would go to a place where his brothers wouldn't find him. As a result, the odds of him being on a random rooftop or a dark alley were very slim. Most of the time when the turtles went up to topside, they were either in dark alleys or on rooftops. Raph had always complained about this situation. As much as the red-clad turtle loved jumping from rooftop to rooftop, it got repetitive after a while. There was one place that he had always secretly went to if he wanted to be alone. It was scenic. It was different. It was calming. It was just the place Raph liked to visit.

After several minutes of sprinting, Leo halted right below the designated manhole. No sunlight had seeped through the cover's pores, indicating that it was still night time. The oldest turtle swiftly ascended up the rungs and uncovered the manhole. Without hesitation, Leo clambered out of the manhole into the dull moonlight. If an observant pedestrian came by, they would be able to see the outline of a mutant turtle. Leo shrugged off this risk, figuring there was no way around it. This particular manhole that he had climbed out of was in the middle of the road near the New York Bay. Weather it was Upper or Lower New York Bay, Leo didn't know.

Before he could be seen, the eldest turtle dashed away from the road towards the direction of the calm waters. Leo came upon a secluded area where neither humans nor boats came around. The secluded area was full of abandoned boxes on gravel that surrounded a lonely dock. A shadow of a bulky figure sat dead center of the dock. As calmly as he could, Leo crept towards the figure.

"Raph?" the eldest turtle almost meekly called to the figure on the dock. A dark head turned to meet Leo's gaze. The familiar green eyes that met the blue-clad turtle's gaze almost seemed to glow with fury in the darkness. Leo took several steps further to get a good view of his younger brother in the moonlight.

"What do you want? Didn't you already have enough?" Raph growled under his breath to his older brother. The red-clad brother's gaze turned back to the waters in front of him. He scooted towards the end of the dock and to let his legs hang over the edge.

Leo swallowed hard before he carefully stepping behind his younger brother. He sat directly in front of his brother's shell cross-legged. The eldest turtle replied, "I'm not trying to look for a fight Raph."

"I know that. Neither of us try to look for a fight. The fight just always seems to find of us. If you didn't want to fight me anymore, then coming over here wasn't the best idea," Raph grumbled, not even turning to look at his brother. "What are you even here for? Are you here to mock me? Lecture me? What do you want?"

Leo sighed shaking his head in slight frustration. "I'm not here for a confrontation if that's what you're thinking. I just wanted to have a peaceful conversation."

"Well I don't want to talk to you. Heck, I don't even want to look at you. Just hearing your nagging voice makes me want to punch you in the jaw. Let's face it, this 'peaceful' conversation you want to have is not going to happen," Raph declared bitterly. A sudden gust of went swept between both the turtles, causing them both to shiver.

Raph's words lit a flame in the pit of Leo's stomach. This was the same flame that caused the eldest turtle to lash out against his brother. It took all of his willpower not to attack his younger brother. Raph was practically asking for a fight, but Leo wasn't going to give in this time. Leo quietly mumbled, "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I could've prevented all this fighting and I didn't. We used to get along so well….and then I screwed up."

It took a couple of seconds of silence for Raph to digest his brother's apology. Guilt had replaced the rage the younger turtle was feeling. Raph gingerly scooted over to one side of the dock leaving an empty space right next to the turtle. He patted the empty space, gesturing his older brother to come sit next to him. The younger turtle muttered, "I guess you are pretty serious about this peaceful conversation. I guess I'll listen to what you have to say."

A smile formed at the corners of Leo's mouth at the progress he had made. He eagerly crawled over to the space to sit next to his younger brother. Raph didn't give Leo a second glance though, but his shoulder twitched at his brother's presence. It felt weird to the two turtles being this close, and yet not wanting to mug each other. The same thought had also crossed their minds that all the arguing had gone too far.

"Oh and for the record, you can cut out all the sappiness Leo. There was no need to apologize for something that is just as much my fault as it is yours. So, apology not accepted," Raph clarified smirking. The red-clad turtle still kept his eyes on the salty waters in front of him.

"I don't know weather to feel relieved that you're willing to talk to me peacefully or insulted by the fact that you didn't accept my apology," Leo muttered to his brother amused. The eldest turtle then realized his brother's body language barely acknowledged him once. Raph seemed completely transfixed on the view in front of him. "Raph? What are you looking at?"

"The waters obviously," his younger brother simply replied still looking straight ahead. An amused expression came across the red-clad turtle's face as Leo stared at him dumbfounded. "I like the view. I'd come here after our fights to calm myself down. Like you, I don't really like all this fighting we do either. Sadly, I lack the self-restraint to avoid conflicts."

"But you've always been the confrontational and outspoken one. You'd pick fights back when we were kids all the time. And I always knew how to avoid most conflicts with you. For some odd reason, I stopped trying not to have conflicts with you. I got careless," Leo whispered while remembering his past. The painful guilt was still as strong as ever in the pit of his stomach. Talking with Raph didn't ease it the slightest. He couldn't help but stare down at his feet self-disgust. "If purposely picking conflicts with you the way I did doesn't make me a terrible brother, I don't know what does. Donnie said all the fighting was causing the team to fall apart. And he's right. In hindsight, all this damage from the conflicts is because of me. I'm the leader, the oldest, I'm supposed to keep everything under control. But instead I let the fighting get out of hand. As a result, everyone is hurting from it."

"Leo, quit going on these guilt-trips. You can't control everything we can and can't do. It takes two of us to start a conflict. Getting frustrated is understandable. And there's a reason why I didn't accept your apology in the first place. There was nothing to apologize for," Raph pleaded to his older brother earnestly. The younger turtle turned his head to face his older brother. It pained him to see Leo hunched over in pure guilt. He had seen his older brother go through these horrible phases of self-reproach. Generally these feelings came from Leo coming to a sudden realization over something, and then forcing himself to take the blame. The oldest turtle must have just realized how harmful these conflicts were and as a result, gave himself the blame. Raph knew better than to allow his brother to drown in his own guilt. "Everything is okay. We're not going to fight anymore-I mean…we're not going to fight as much. Let's just move on from this, okay? Nobody but you is blaming you for this."

Leo sat up straighter to glance over at his brother with a somber expression. He gave Raph a weak smile before replying, "You are not a terrible brother."

"You're right. I'm an adequate brother. And you're not a terrible brother either. If anything you're too good of a brother for our own good. You were right in that argument we had earlier. Without you, some of us might be dead. I don't think you realize how much more of an upside you have for this team," Raph explained while putting a light hand on his brother's shoulder. Leo beamed at his older brother appreciatively before nodding in understanding. Raph then added frowning, "The conversation just got sappy Leo. Thanks a lot."

The oldest turtle chuckled at this to his younger brother before commenting, "The sappiness is coming from mostly you bro. Don't blame me. I did not put a gun to your head and force you to become sappy."

"Yeah, well your cheesy presence is as forceful has a gun to the head," Raph responded jokingly. Leo smirked at this while giving his younger brother a playful shove. The younger turtle then abruptly changed the subject the second he saw the sun's light break the surface of the water. "And yeah. I know what you're going to say. We should probably head back to the lair."

"Alright. But before we do that, I'm gonna add to the accumulative sappiness that has come from this conversation," Leo answered grinning. Raph gave his brother a confused look. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Leo lunged forward to give his brother an overdue hug, which the younger turtle returned after a couple seconds of surprise. "Thanks Raph."


End file.
